The establishment of a Dialogue Cooperation Committee for Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Indonesia should go a long way in providing policy coordination and guidance between the two countries. The Minister for International Trade and Investment, Richard Maru made this remark after the Indonesian Government proposed that Indonesia and PNG establish a high-level Dialogue Cooperation Committee to meet every six months to drive the agenda of growing trade and investment, and all cooperation between the two countries. "This committee will provide policy coordination and guidance for the practical cooperation between our two countries,” said Minister Maru. This is important because Maru explained that Indonesia has a similar arrangement with China which has seen significant growth in trade and investment between the two countries. “According to China Customs, total trade value of the two countries as of October 2022 reached US$122.47 billion, an increase of around 26.12% from the previous year. This shows the very close condition of the trade relations between the two countries riding on the back of this arrangement." It is proposed that the committee will be co-chaired by PNG’s Deputy Prime Minister, John Rosso and the Indonesian Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investments, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. "We are finalizing the Terms of Reference and Deputy Prime Minister Rosso will be taking a submission to the Cabinet upon returning from our high-level trade and investment mission in Indonesia to have the committee established as soon as possible," said Minister Maru. "This high-level Dialogue and Cooperation Committee will consolidate the relationship between our two countries on a government-to-government level and we will have business-to-business, and people-to-people relationships developed on the back of this arrangement. “It has taken us 50 years to reach this point, and I am very excited about this proposal by the Indonesian Government to establish this high-level committee," added Minister Maru.